Fears for jobless as agency collapses

December 24, 2003 — 11.00am

Financial difficulties have forced a NSW-based job agency to close, leaving thousands of job-seekers in limbo amid warnings that other similar organisations, part of the Federal Government's Job Network, may also be unviable.

The collapse of Options Community Enterprises, with seven offices in NSW, two interstate and 120 staff, follows the Government's controversial restructure of the Job Network system in July.

The Government has since committed more than $2 billion over three years to rescue cash-strapped providers, but critics claim the money has not been enough to repair fundamental problems in the privatised job placement scheme.

Advertisement

The chief executive of Options, Bill Gye, told his 120 emotional employees they would be stood down while the non-profit organisation went into voluntary administration by the accountants Ferrier Hodgson.

Mr Gye said changes to Job Network in July had altered the fee structure and, because of that, "we were servicing a large number of people. So it moves from being a business where you might service 100 people at $1000 dollars [each] to servicing 300 people at about half that," he said.

Mr Gye said he had made the comparison to the Employment Services Minister, Mal Brough, that "we used to be selling frocks at the top of Chatswood Chase, and now we've moved to selling frocks off the rack at K Mart".

Last financial year Options achieved the top five-star rating within the Job Network and, as a result, nearly doubled its business. Mr Gye said he was still hopeful of attracting an "angel" to fund Options into the new quarter, when the business would receive cash from continuing contracts.

Options was part of Job Futures, a network of community-based employment service providers. Its chief executive, Robert Tickner, said around-the-clock negotiations were under way to transfer Options contracts to other services in Job Futures.

"It's a very, very demanding, and challenging time for us all, but we are determined to see it through for those job-seekers," Mr Tickner said.

Options specialised in finding jobs for people with HIV/AIDS, hepatitis, the deaf and the hearing impaired.

Mr Tickner said Job Futures had a range of specialist providers, and he was not concerned about the viability of any of them. But the Opposition spokesman on employment services, Anthony Albanese, said other providers could go the way of Options.

"The Government will find it difficult to replace the 27 years of experience that Options had built up in that area," Mr Albanese said.

The chairman of National Employment Services, David Thompson, said "there is a general concern about whether [the restructured Job Network] is viable for small providers" including many in rural and regional Australia.

"It isn't designed to be friendly to specialist disability providers," he said, noting that others "also are not doing very well".

Options is closing offices in several marginal electorates, including its Strathfield office (in the seat of Lowe), Katoomba (Macquarie), Parramatta and Newcastle. Others include Chatswood, Darlinghurst and Dee Why, which is part of the Health Minister, Tony Abbott's electorate. Mr Abbott was previously workplace minister, responsible for the first restructure of Job Network, which resolved its early calamities.

The Options office in Oxford Street, Darlinghurst, was locked yesterday and the lights were off. A notice on the door said that "due to unforseen circumstances" it would be closed until January 5.

Mr Brough said in a statement the issue was one between the company and Job Futures. Options' problems related to internal management. He said: "The Department of Workplace Relations will provide whatever assistance it reasonably can to Job Futures during this difficult time and will consider any proposals that Job Futures might offer in the way of replacement providers, subject to appropriate probity and purchasing considerations."